Master Gaurdian-- Mirror of The Occus
by Sword Legion
Summary: Knuckles hears rumors of an artifact that will show it's user whatever they desire most. Immediately recognizing it as an old mirror he found treasure hunting long ago-Knuckles decides to put it to the test! Things don't go as planned when the mirror becomes unresponsive and Knuckles decides to give it to Shade instead. Set two months after Sonic Chronicles.
1. Chapter 1

"-Then the boulder ran right over me-or it would have, but I was already burrowed in the ground. It was tooooooooo slow!" Knuckles expressed yet another of his treasure hunting tales to Tikal and Shade. The grin across his face was wide. His right hand came up from below the table and slapped a small, gold statue in front of him. The object was only three inches tall and roughly looked like a female hedgehog. "Doesn't it look neat?" He further relished in the glory of his tale.

Tikal and Shade were busy stuffing food inside their mouths-unable to respond. "Hm. . ." Tikal chewed and swallowed. "Knuckles, is that a hedgehog-not an echidna?" She looked at the statue across the plates of beans and maize with interest.

"As a matter of fact-it is." He took a closer look at the object himself. "I know, it's strange right? I've seen hedgehogs depicted on the walls of Sandapolis, but almost never in the form of a small statue like this." He commented.

Shade continued to indulge in her food. The traditional Knuckles clan dish was strange-but she found most of it enjoyable.

"Any Hedgehogs in Sandapolis were usually lower class citizens." Tikal explained. Her wooden fork stirred against her plate as she scooped up more corn. "The Ivus clan often had them as war prisoners. I think. . ." She stopped, and looked at the statue more closely. "-Ah, I know who this is!" Her sudden expression was filled with enthusiasm. "Her dress-and her headband, this must be Celi of the Ocuus! Of course, why didn't I think of her before?" The echidna seemed somewhat upset with herself for not noticing sooner.

"Celi who?" Knuckles questioned.

"Celi of the Ocuus." Tikal explained. "Rumor has it, thousands of years ago, that during the first expanse of the Ivus Tribe, a god by the name of Ocuus visited Celi and gave her a mirror which showed her whatever she wanted most. Celi at first wanted to use the mirror to free her people. Instead, she decided to bargain with her echidna lover-a great prince of whom she was bound as a servant. Together, the two used the mirror to find the location of hiding enemies and their leaders. Wiping them out, the Ivus clan more than tripled in size, but admist all their prosperity, the mirror stopped working. . ."

"What do you mean? Why would it stop?"

"The lovers became complacent with the size of their empire, and rather than fighting the remaining hedgehog clans and uncovering the location of the Master Emerald, they desired each other more than any war. Whenever they looked into the mirror, they could only see each other. They were unwilling to let anyone else have the mirror lest it be used against them, so instead they hid, never to be found again. It's only a legend, and some people point to other factors leading to their sudden expansion. Claiming that a god gave you something does help establish your right to rule after all."

"I bet it does. . ." Knuckles looked off into the distance in a puzzled fashion. His eyes settled on Shade for a brief moment before quickly looking away. He didn't want to get caught staring at her, and ever since she had come to Angel Island, their interaction had been awkward at best. "What did the mirror look like?" He asked.

"Hm?" Tikal perked up "I hear it was made of a black and purple material. Few people ever saw it besides the prince and his lover, why?"

"I'm thinking. . . thinking about murals that might have depicted it." Knuckles answered while continuing his gaze into the distance. "I think I've seen images of it before, but I never realized it was that important."

"Things aren't always what they seem." Tikal continued to eat and speak less.

 _Yeah. . . not always what they seem._ Knuckles thought to himself. His eyes returned to his plate-there wasn't much left to eat, but he had lost his appetite. Slowly, he finished his meal and stood up to thank Tikal. "Thanks for making dinner again." He mentioned before walking off.

"Of course-wait, already?" Tikal was shocked that Knuckles was done eating-and without having seconds either.

"Yeah-I uh-I have some things to take care of. I guess I should say thanks for reminding me." He told the half truth of his situation.

"Okay Knuckles. . . but if you're hungry, you can always come back later." Tikal almost seemed upset that she had made too much to eat, and would have to preserve some of it.

Slowly, The echidna's feet tread across the open ground. The small town he traversed only consisted of three houses. was the closest thing to a true echidna community rising up on the face of Mobious once more. Upon entering his own house, the guardian's pace picked up. It wasn't long before he had gripped the edges of his rug, and pulled it back to reveal a trap door. Once it was open, Knuckles found himself climbing down a wooden ladder. He entered a large open basement which he had dug out himself. The room was filled with rings, chests, even books. A wide assortment of old artifacts he had been collecting since he was on Angel Island. The room glowed with a yellow glare thanks to the ring's reflections of special crystal lamps he had installed throughout it. In one corner, the echidna opened up a trunk full of more "delicate" items. Soon enough, his hands felt the black handle of an old, and curious object he had taken a while back. He pulled out a mirror-one like Tikal had described. The glass was slightly dusty, but he could easily polish it off. With his arm wiping across the surface, he peered into it for the first time in forever. Knuckles had looked into the mirror in the past, but since he had gathered it with a number of other items at once, he hadn't properly reviewed it.

 _If the mirror shows what we want the most, then why didn't I see anything in it the first time I looked at it? Maybe it was dirty. . ._ He wondered as he held the mirror up and deeply gazed into it. A few seconds passed and nothing came of it. "Figures." He mumbled. "I guess it's just a fake. . . who knows how many of these may have been made in tribute to the original legend. I don't even recall if it matches the one I saw in the murals." Knuckles kept the mirror by his side and climbed back up the ladder. With his treasure stash secure, he made his way back into the "Town square" and brought himself to Shade's location. She was already going back to Tikal's house with a handful of dishes-dishes Knuckles had felt obligated to leave behind for the two of them to clean up. . .

"Hey Shade, Tikal's story got me thinking. Maybe you'd like to have this." Knuckles reached forward with the artifact.

"A mirror?" Shade spoke for the first time that evening.

"Yeah-uh. . . you like mirrors, right? Since you're a girl!" He attempted to justify his offer, only realizing too late how me must be sounding. "Not that you're like most girls, it's just. . . well. . . a gift-that you'd like. You'd like it because-"

"Thank you Knuckles." Shade realized the unfortunate position Knuckles was in and relieved him of it. "It's close to my color. I could use it." She was rather honest, and yet inoffensive with her conduct.

"Sure thing. . ." Knuckles attempted not to sweat and hoped that Shade hadn't seen right through him. _Dang it! She'll never appreciate me if I keep acting like this, sometimes I wish we were just fighting robots again, at least then she could see what I'm good for!_ He vented in his head the disaster that was his situation. Shade had chosen to live with him and Tikal on Angel Island-not because she liked company, but because she actively avoided it. It made the very act of talking to her feel invasive, and unlike Knuckles, she didn't grow up with a total lack of potential mates in her future. She had been in the army-constantly surrounded by males, probably males who were competing for her as well. Knuckles believed his species was completely gone, and Rouge's more annoying side had kept her from having a sincere affect on his ability to interact with her.

Knuckles trailed off. He met Tikal who had started to clean up dinner. Picking up some of the dishes, he followed her to the cauldron she had laid out over an open fire. "Knuckles. I need you to get something for me, can you make time for it tomorrow?"

"Time for what?"

"I've been meaning to cook us up a treat-I want to smoke some fish, but to do it, I need some special wood. Pachacamac used to love this recipe and made sure I learned it at a young age. I think you and Shade would like it too!"

"That sounds like fun." Knuckles responded earnestly. "What kind of wood do you need?"

"I need black cherry tree wood. Can you find some?"

"I think so, but if I had a legendary mirror it would be way easier. . ."

"Hm" Tikal laughed to herself "You would wish everything was that easy wouldn't you?"

"Why not?" Knuckles argued. "Sometimes, my job guarding the Master Emerald is hard enough as it is. . ." His eyes scrunched up as he thought of the more dangerous places he had been looking for the various shards of the Master Emerald."

"You mean when you aren't sleeping on some corner of the island or worried about Eggman showing up."

"It is nice that he leaves me alone now that I've proven he can't get it. . . but I still have to stay aware. . . "

"We all wish we had some magic artifact to make our lives easier." Tikal suddenly felt the need to recite more (sometimes boring!) echidna history on Angel Island. "Actually, the story of the Occus Mirror doesn't always end with Tribe Ivus's expansion. There are a few different versions of the story, including one where Celis's son tried to find his parent's mirror."

"What happened then?" Knuckles indulged his supposed _Aunt's_ desire to tell the tale.

"He found it with the help of his best friend, however, upon looking into it, he could only see his own reflection. In his anger, he threw the mirror down and destoryed it. Then his friend belittled him for not looking into it long enough. His friend earnestly believed that the mirror just needed more time to focus, but Celi's son believed that he was so narrsistic that he only cared about himself. This made it impossible to see anything through it. With the mirror destroyed, he claimed that his parents had lied about it's power and merely had a large network of crafty spies working for them. This story is generally regarded as an untrue legend made by later sages."

"To narcissistic-either that-or he wasn't patient enough?" Knuckles spoke under his breath a little too loudly.

"What was that Knuckles?"

"Nothing. . . I. . . I'm going to look for that cherry tree now." Knuckles explained as he ran off. Worried that he had given Shade a fully functioning mirror, he ran towards her house and circled around it so that Tikal couldn't see him. He slipped through the open door while she was looking away. It was time to give that mirror one more chance. . .


	2. Chapter 2

Knuckles frantically dashed over to Shade's home. It was a one room building which was only good for sleeping in just like his own and Tikal's individual huts. There were few places Shade could have stored the mirror. Usually she or Knuckles helped Tikal take care of the dishes, and tonight she had run off to do her own activities-creating the perfect opportunity to sneak inside. Once inside the building, Knuckles glanced over a number of house stock items. Shade's bed, which had a black sheet and a lavender blanket. Unlike his own and Tikal's bedware, her's was purchased from a store. Knuckles wasn't too much on clothing or furniture, but he did have a slight affection for his traditional tribal rugs and other items, which he and Tikal had been collecting in abundance from Angel Island's ruins. The next item to catch his attention was Shade's dresser-a very likely location for her to stuff something like the mirror. Knuckles eyes focused on a pair of tables. They were both completely clean, but one of them housed a computer and keyboard. Knuckles recalled how Tails expressed the internet's usefulness for finding new information and entertaining someone when there was nothing else to do. Knuckles thought Tails was crazy, but he had to admit-random videos and other things Shade had shown him and Tikal were funny. In spite of this, he wished that Shade wasn't so invested in the digital screen. He thought it was a waste of her time, and yet, she must have had something similar when she was a nocturnus soldier. It must have been totally normal to her.

"There's only one place she would put it. . ." Knuckles eyed her dresser as he took several steps forward. He first checked the bottom drawer, although he didn't expect it to be there. Sure enough, all he could see was a series of casual pants, all folded neatly and stacked on one another. The echidna lifted some of them up to check underneath, but he didn't find a mirror. "I'll just skip to the top." He determined out loud as his hands gripped both knobs and pulled the drawer out. The next sight filled him with discomfort, as stacks of underwear filled most of the space. They were all white and rather plain, but Knuckles wasn't here to be some kind of creep. He had a mission, and like every time he had to look for something, he'd get it no matter how dirty things got. However, his was an entirely different kind of "dirty" than he was used too. . .

"It's got to be close." Knuckles _bravely_ stuffed his hands inside and moved the underwear aside. At first he found nothing. Unfortunately, he found the. . . _bikini tops_ -(that's what they were called right?)- pretty annoying and messy to sort through with their thin strands. After rummaging through them for a few moments, he uncovered a strange metallic device. It had a tiny interface which displayed imagery of what appeared to be an outgoing signal. "Huh?" Knuckles spoke out loud. "Is that Shade's communicator? Why would it be turned on? Is she trying to talk to someone?" He moved his huge gloves through a few of the "bikini tops" and took the device out to examine it.

"Dang it. . ." Knuckles cringed as one of the straps hung off his arm. He wasn't about to pull the device out with a piece or two of underwear hanging off his limbs, so instead he attempted to open the communicator and check it inside the drawer. The device was clearly military issue, sliding it open revealed no numbers, but a few buttons which could be pressed for navigation as well as a list of contacts. The names seemed strange to Knuckles-Nocturnus clan definitely. Curiously, it appeared as if Shade had one outgoing message which had not been read. This prompted Knuckles to attempt to select it, but it was too late. Some noises picked up just outside the building-

". . . need my permission just to do research Tikal. You know my computer is open to anyone. Let's set you up." Shade's voice clearly came from outdoors. Knuckle's eyes widened with fear.

"Oh no." He muttered. The device was dropped in it's place inside the drawer. He pulled his arms out quickly-but not carefully enough to get his arm out from the straps. Two tops hung from his arm as both hands were placed before him. _Dang it! I don't have time I've got. . ._ Knuckle closed the dresser smoothly to avoid making noise before looking at Shade's bed. _There's only one way out of this!_ he frantically determined.

In a dive, Knuckles fell belly first and crawled under Shade's bed. He proceeded to breath slowly, lest the sound give him away. Shade and Tikal walked inside the building. They both sat down at the computer as Shade entered her simply password after it had finished booting up. Knuckles started to sweat, but he doubted that he was caught. Just as he started to calm down, Shade stood up and announced her next objective. "I'm going to take off my headband. I want my quills to relax before bed tonight." She proceeded to move towards her dresser and pop open what Knuckle's expected was her top drawer.

All Knuckles could see was Shade's shoes standing just inches away from her bed. When the sound of sliding wood was finished, she ceased moving as if something was amiss. The culprit wanted to gulp-but he wouldn't give his location away so carelessly. After a few moments of standing there, Knuckles could finally hear Shade look through her top drawer before closing it again. Her feet turned-facing the bed Knuckles was hiding under. She stepped forward, and Knuckles could hear the sound of her picking up something made out of metal. . . Next, the red echidna heard some kind of energy power up right before Shade fell down on one knee and pointed a blaster arm right at his body.

"Say who you a-" She spoke angerly, but her sentence was cut short by her own disbelief. ". . . Knuckles?" She asked in great dismay.

"Wait! Don't shoot! It's me!" Knuckles tried to get up and raise his hands, but he only bonked his head. "Ow-" He muttered after impacting the surface above him.

"Knuckles. . ." Shade spoke in serious tone.

"I know, this looks bad but hear me out. . . let me get out first. . . It's not bad, I promise!" Once Shade stepped back, he crawled out on his belly and slowly stood up-revealing a _bikini top_ hanging off his left arm. Upon seeing this new element in the situation, Shade's face began to turn to disgust. "Okay, now it looks worse-" Knuckle's usual calm demeanor had been completely flustered by his circumstances, but he had to get the words out. "It's just that. . . I have big hands! And these tops are also huge! -What I mean is the straps-they're so big that my hands fit right through them, so they got stuck!"

"Knuckles!" Shade interrupted. The girl understandably need an explanation now-and Knuckles was doing a poor job of it. Taking a deep breath, Knuckles decided to try one more time. This time, he'd cut right to the reason

"I need the mirror back that I gave you. . . I need to know if it's the real deal or not. I'm sorry Shade, but I think I gave you the mirror too soon. I came here to look for it and see if it actually works. I know that's not an excuse. . ." He spoke in a truly humble fashion.

Shade released a disappointed sigh. Just behind her, Knuckles could see Tikal sitting at the computer and bobbing her head to music through headphones in a totally oblivious manner. "I believe you Knuckles." Shade answered in a calm, but still disapproving fashion. "I'd like it if you'd just ask instead of rummaging through my private things. . ." She mentioned as her eyes dryly rolled off to the left.

"I understand. Especially since you're apparently sending messages to other Noctrunus clan soldiers." Knuckles gave her a look of disapproval all his own, though it immediately shifted back to shame upon realizing how much of a bad guy he had already come across. Shade's eyes widened.

"My communicator. . ." She whispered to herself.

"Is there an explanation for this?" Knuckles asked. Shade looked away once more before finally making her response.

"I was contacted by an old comrade. A straggler left in our world. I didn't plan to talk to him at first, but my curiosity got the better of me. I've always left my intercom open, so that if someone wanted to attack us, I could at least let you know they were coming."

"Well-I believe _you_." Knuckles assured her as Tikal bounced up and down in her computer chair to whatever music she was listening too. Still stuck in the grove, Tikal turned just a bit and saw Knuckles standing there with a _bikini top_ hanging off his arm. The innocent joy on her face turned to bewilderment and her smile, into an awkward frown. "Uh. . . Shade"Knuckles pointed at the girl behind Shade. . .

"Knuckles. . . !" The young priestest expressed in great disbelief. "What are you doing? Are those Shade's bra-"

"It's a long story. . . Please-just take this back." He pulled the stubborn articles of clothing off his arms and handed it to Shade.

"Knuckles, I know I said you should-"

"Yeah-yeah. We're not having that talk right now. It's not what it looks like!" He defended, and he didn't want to explain everything twice.

"I'm leaving you two alone! Let me know when you're ready to act like a responsible adult Knuckles-not some pubecent teenager!" Tikal stormed out of the room.

"Thank's Tikal. . ." Knuckles responded sarcastically. "We need to have a talk." He returned his focus to Shade. "We need to talk about a lot of things."

"I agree." Shade answered. "Let's get this settled so there can be no mistake. . ."

Within a few moments, both echidnas had calmed down enough to appropriately engage in speech. They were seated in opposing chairs, and they felt like something had been dividing them for a long time. Since Knuckles had explained his actions previously, and with the most detail, he would go first. "Shade. I saw you had one outgoing message on your communicator, but I couldn't see what it was. Who are you contacting?"

"Centurion Demitrex-My superior, also a defector against Imperator Ix. I was one of his procruators during the war, and he needs me to come back and establish order to both the people and the treasury." She explained.

"Treasury? I thought you were a soldier, not an accountant!"

"Everyone is a soldier in the Nocturnus clan Knuckles. . . unless you plan to be a peasant all your life. If you are a leader of any kind, then you'll learn how to fight, and how to fight well. Those of us who our parents want to join the military life are taken at age eight to training camps and will train for another decade. We were fierce before the Twilight Cage, and the cage forced us to be fiercer. When I first came to earth, as a procurator, my job was to scout out and evaluate enemy supplies. That's why I was one of the first on Angel Island, and Central City after the fact. I used to participate in many raids, and organized the goods which we obtained-but I also knew how to fight."

"So you were a raider-a front line supply raider. And now you're needed back because you can handle. . . money and valuables?"

"It's not quite like that. Once you've established an effective reputation among the Nocturnus Clan, people look up to you. The Defeat of Ix has left the Nocturnus Clan shattered. . . right after the Argus event, we were already shakily united as it was. Ix was blamed for the catastrophe we were facing, and several of the united tribes considered seceding. We were surrounded by enemies who found our technology interesting, and they were ready to wipe us out. Ix rallied us together by appealing to his military prowess. He said that we would need a strong leader who could properly use our military to defend against the enemy, or we would be subdued. Although many dissenters hated it. . . Ix was right. If we didn't unite we would be finished, and Ix had proven to be the most capable ruler of us all. . . in a militarized sense anyways. New accords were drawn and the second age of the Nocturnus Clan was started. Ix would still rule us. . . but only as long as he did so with the intent of getting us out of the Twilight Cage. Some tribes wanted to just take over the world again, but many were content with splitting off after we finally escaped. My oath as a soldier was only valid as long as Ix worked towards our freedom. On that day I betrayed him-others did as well on the same grounds. The grounds that Ix was a liar who had learned nothing from the past. Today, various cells of tribes, once ruled by the Nocturnus Clan are fighting or struggling to keep order. They need a hero to return to them because of an abundance of pirates who are raiding citizens in the absence of a strong central government. Some even want to reinsall the Imperial Nocturnus clan itself. . ."

"So they need you because you used to be in charge of a lot of people?"

"In charge of handling financial affairs at least-but also because I'm regarded as a war hero against Ix-like you-like all of Team Sonic."

"So this old comrade thinks he can take you back to the Twilight Cage and establish order? Get rid of a few pirates? You're going back because your people still need you, and you're willing to trust this guy?"

"My oath was to my people Knuckles. . . not to Ix. And truthfully-no-I did not trust Demitrex at first, but then you gave me the mirror, and I looked into it." Shade stopped, and her voice became solemn.

"What did you see?" Knuckles asked very quietly.

"I saw. . . I saw my mom and my dad. They looked just like they did in the dreams I used to have. In the mirror, they looked so poor. I used to ask myself why they'd think that a military career was better for me, and now I know why. When I was looking into the mirror, I also saw that their house was in ashes. . . I think that pirates had. . ." She stopped talking. Her head hung still for a few moments before Knuckles finally replied.

"I understand." Knuckles stood up from his chair. "You want to go back and right some wrongs. You want to help your people. I understand that." The red echidna looked off into the distance as if he was reflecting deeply inside.

"It's true, I'm glad you gave me the mirror since it gave some clarity to me. You can have it back now Knuckles."

Knuckles thought for a moment. Twice had he looked into the mirror, and twice had he only seen his own reflection. He wasn't sure if he hadn't looked into it long enough, or if for some reason he was just obsessed with himself, although this made no sense to him. "I think I'll pass." He responded. "I know that's what I came in here for, but after hearing about what you saw, you need it more. What's more important than family? I don't know what having a family is like-I can only imagine how important it is if you did have one." He finished seriously.

"I can only imagine part of what that's like." Shade answered. "I only had my parents when I was very young, but the army became my second family. You would consider Sonic, or Tails something like a family to you, right?" She questioned.

"Maybe. . . before Tikal anyways. Tikal claims she's my aunt, but she won't explain why. Sometimes I think she's making it up just so she can claim some authority over me and force me into more training. . . I don't know." Knuckles raised his hands and shook his head. "But whatever happens, I understand that you need to do what you need to do. It's like the Master Emerald, that's my responsibility-and helping your people-that's yours." Knuckles nodded.

"I respect your life, and your responsibility Knuckles. But I need to help my people. I've enjoyed my time here and I know that you have to be guarding the Master Emerald all the time, but me. . . I'm not doing anything positive. It's depressing given my training, and every day since the Dimensional Portal closed, I worried about my people. If I can get back to them with Demitrex, then I have to. Thank you for understanding."

"No problem. I guess I should ask if you want me to tag along? Beating up a few pirates does sound fun."

"I've already discussed this with Demitrex. . . while most people see you and Sonic as heroes, he fears an assassination attempt, especially since you would constantly be with us in exposed areas. Even troops who are friendly to me might have mixed views on you and try to kill you for a bounty. . . I appreciate your offer Knuckles, but I think it's best if you stayed behind. . . . with your own responsibility."

"Really?" Knuckles asked at first. "You don't think that taking me along would be a good idea? We beat the entire Nocturnus before, why couldn't we do it again! The tribes aren't even united anymore, what's the worse they could do to you and me!"

"Knuckles-we wouldn't even be sure who our real enemies are! When you first entered the Twilight Cage with Team Sonic, you had a huge unit of elite fighters. We were always protecting each other-and we were mostly out of the Nocturnus's reach. I want to ask you something-something I noticed the first time we were fighting the Nocturnus. Have you and Sonic's team ever fought other mobians?"

Knuckles was surprised by this question. "Well yeah-of course!" He stated. "Why?"

"None of you knew what you were doing when you fought the Nocturnus Clan." Shade put bluntly.

"WHAT!?"

"It's true. . . but when I asked Tails about this privately-he explained something to me. You guys-Team Sonic-you never really fought other mobians let alone huge amounts of them have you?"

"Well. . . not a bunch at one time-"

"I watched you guys run around and act as our enemies couldn't even put lead on our targets. You were definitely effective as a group-but you've only ever fought large numbers of clunky robots-or these humans. Humans and robots are pathetic compared to Nocturnus Soldiers! If I take you with Demitrex, then you will be in semi hostile territory surrounded by guns and even snipers-"

"Hey! Eggman's tried snipering me before! He didn't get very far, I'll tell you that."

"Robot snipers?"

"Well-them and a purple weasel one time, but I'm telling you!"

"No Knuckles!" Shade interrupted. "I can't do that! Also, if I take you with me-" She trailed off as if she really didn't want to say it. "I. . . will make myself look like an enemy of the Nocturnus Clan. You don't understand but while some tribe members see me as a hero, they only see me as someone who manipulated an outside faction into doing my own bidding. I know it sounds crazy. . . but many people see you and Sonic as nothing but foreign invaders who defeated Ix for their own purposes, while I was simply an opportunist. I will have to testify before all the Tribal leaders at some point, and I fear even bringing you guys along will jeopardize my case. . ."

"That's ridiculous." Knuckles argued. "But. . ." He had to stop and think for a moment. "I don't know much about your people and what they think do I?"

"Even if you come and help on mercy missions-reimbursing common people with supplies, I'm afraid that as long as we're always surrounded by potential enemies, something will happen to you! You were captured by the Nocturnus and know first hand how powerful we are! Earth's, and Eggman's forces wouldn't last a month against us. . ."

"I know. . . I'll defer to your judgement." Knuckles finally relented. "I still think I could be of some help but. . . I won't bother you about it."

"Thank you Knuckles. I'll see Demitrex tonight then. I'll tell you how it went."

"You got it." Knuckles responded. But even as the words came out, his heart wasn't in the right place. The entire situation felt wrong. Even worse, it felt like he was saying goodbye-and he didn't even know who she was. Just some stranger who had lived here a few months, and of whom he'd allowed to live here out of mere courtesy-not friendship. The thought was terrible, but there was nothing he could do.


	3. Chapter 3

Twilight loomed overhead. Stars were covered by clouds while the dying orange glow of old city lights reflected off their undersides. Shade hated this imagery. To live in a world were clouds were so common that they blocked out the nighttime sky was depressing. She loved the sky when it was open and blue, but to be denied the light of stars seemed imprisoning. Shade thought back to her earliest days in the Twilight Cage. She recalled how important the natural light of stars were in some locations. Her mind this compared the contrast to the first time she had been on earth. The sky was a single, vibrant color, which changed in the morning and evening. She had seen similar constant colors on various planetoids, but never one as pure as the earth's.

Making her way through the inner city, Shade was decked in full nocturnus armor. She had been sent a signal-a signal that would lead her to Demitrex. This is what she was told-not that she completely trusted it. It wasn't much longer before she found a broken down office as described in their last digital exchange. Heeding the message to meet him at the top floor, the echidna ran before making a huge leap. She landed on an upper deck and proceeded to walk inside. Pushing the door open was no trouble. The moment she entered, she could hear some kind of deep bass music pumping in the distance. "Demitrex!" She called out assertively. "I'm here, where are you? Can you hear me?" Immediately a reply came.

"You're one room off. Please come through the next door." Came the voice of an older sounding person. Shade followed his instructions and walked into the next room. Upon entering it, she was surprised to find a decently maintained room with more than a few bottles and several pieces of furniture. The room housed a series of cabinets, a desk, a chair, and even a bookshelf-the last of these which occupied the far side of the room. Before her, she saw an old, orange quilled echidna also decked in Nocturnus clan armor, but unlike her, his helmet wasn't on. While his general head shape was wider than some people of the same race, the most immediately striking feature was his eyes. They were not organic-instead they resembled the nozzle like lenses of a camera sticking out of metallic orbs resting in his sockets. The heart of these lenses glowed with an eiree red. "Please-*cough*." The echidna sputtered. "Sit down and make yourself comfortable."

Shade looked at the echidna intently. The fact that he had bionic eyes wasn't making a great first impression on an instinctual level. Of course, Shade knew that he might have the eyes of a cyborg for a number of reasons-good or bad-but creatures naturally wish to avoid other creatures who appear like them but also bear sickly or deformed proportions. "Thank you Demitrex, but I would rather stand for the moment with all due respect." She answered calmly.

"Alright." He responded as if he didn't care. "I won't waste any of your time, but It would be sore if I didn't offer you a drink." His black gloved hand touched the neck of the nearest bottle and began to pour into a glass.

"That won't be necessary. It wouldn't be good for me to be under influence while negotiating." Shade continued to stand her ground and answer respectfully.

"Actually, this is just a kind of cider. I wouldn't intoxicate myself while talking about this stuff either. I have a feeling any compliments I gave would come across as me trying to manipulate you-I'll get to the point. You already know _why_ you're here. We just need to discuss the details. What do you want to know?"

"I want to know more." Shade answered. "Tell me what your plan is, the state of the Pentella and the lessar tribes. Who's taking charge, and where do you want me to go exactly? You also said that you found a way to get back to the Twilight Cage. This must mean that you've already been back there once if you claim to know the current state of anarchy it's in."

Demitrex laid back in his chair. "We have returned-once-with the help of our previous enemies. Let me to explain from the beginning-when we heard that Ix had revealed his true motive, it wasn't a surprise to us, but it wasn't something we believed either. That he would suddenly turn several tribes against him by breaking his word didn't make sense. . . after visiting the Nocturnus Clan again myself, I understood what he was doing. He was attempting to seize power by gaining the support of the other imperialistic tribes and making it difficult for the other tribes to rebel in this time of turmoil. Sonic could potentially make us vulnerable, and there were rumors that he was the hero prophesied from Angel Island. I hear that he used all seven chaos emeralds to defeat Ix. You were there Shade, is it true?"

"Yes. . . Sonic can achieve perfect union with the chaos emeralds. They refer to it as his _super form_ and he's done it many times."

"The humans of this planet. . . they claim that he defeated Chaos-If that's true, then only three beasts remain."

"Whether Sonic is fulfilling the prophesy or not, I have my own people to worry about Demitrex. We should stick to the topic at hand." Shade hoped to return to the more relevant issue.

"Hmph. . ." The commander groaned. "We got back to the Twilight Cage by working with GUN. My crew and other stragglers signed on as a mercenary unit after the war-but not on official record. GUN was curious about our technology, however, they have not been able to reproduce it. In the meantime, we've done small time jobs for them, mostly traveling the globe on elite missions taking out international drug dealers, or "terrorists" as they call them. Seems to me more like they're fighting a guerrilla faction, but young males can never look at a war for what it is." He explained. "GUN used some of our technology to build a ship and what they knew about chaos emeralds-artifacts we haven't had access too for too many years-and developed a means of chaos control which can create a portal without the Master Emerald. There's only two downfalls. The chaos control warp will only work in the vacuum of space-and we also need a new chaos emerald to power the dimension ripper. Does that sound like something we can use your help to obtain?"

"Maybe." Shade answered the last question. "What happened to the last one?"

"It's been drained of all it's negative energy, but it's recovering. In order to leave at a decent time and let the emeralds recover at a reasonable rate, we want to power the device with two at a time. It should lighten the load on both and allow us to make back and forth trips more frequently. GUN is interested in detaining any rogue stragglers across earth and either recruiting them or sending them back to their own dimension. I understand since we've biologically superior to them in every way. Given a few decades or reproduction and echidna kind would wipe humans out just like we did on mobious. . . as the _supreme race_ they really wouldn't want that to happen, and you know Ix approves of this."

"I know. I sill need convinced regarding why I'm so important and you couldn't just use someone else."

"I could use all of you-the whole team, but for Sonic and the others, now's not the time. Think about this. You helped take down the greatest dictator we've ever had, but you did so with honor and under a proper understanding of our constitution and your oath. You are a hero to some people. . . and of course a traitor to others. I don't think we should take Sonic or Knuckles with us since they would be seen as outsiders and foreign invaders doing it for their own selfish reasons. . . but you-people will see you in a different, and a patriotic light. I think you can help us do something. People remember your skill and responsible choices. They want you back, and as a high procurator, there's more than a small seat of power you could take. We need anyone who can help squash the anarchy right now. Do you have any idea what's been happening in the Twilight Cage since you've been gone?

"I know." Shade answered. "You told me some of it. . . and it sounds exactly like what would happen. Infighting amongst the tribes. New boarders, consolidation of resources. Pirates pillaging the poor among the chaos. . ."

"Resources. The backbone of war. . . that's why we need you specifically Shade. You're a rebel, and a patriot at the same time. You've done what no other procurator has, and you have much respect among various tribes. Some who liked Ix would even defer to you since they respect power and you were capable of overthrowing him."

"I had help, and I didn't finish him off."

"The Nocturnus Clan is a giant team-and that you had the help of a team to defeat Ix is not something that would dismay them. Even if it was Sonic who truly beat him-he is viewed as nothing but a foreign invader to many echidnas. You however-you have respect and the people understand why you fought Ix. If you manipulated Sonic-which I'm not saying you did-even that would be an acceptable means to achieve your goals. You know this Shade, and after talking to other leaders within the realm, I can confirm the old processes still prevail. Beyond all that-your people need help. That is why I called you here. We need your help for the survival of our tribe. Sonic, you, and your entire team gave many of the Nocturnus Clan's enemies a chance to attack us. Since Ix has receded, plenty of them have seen our weakness and laid siege to our boarders. They need repulsed-and with the amounts of hate that they have for us, I fear they would rather drive us into extinction instead of keep us as slaves. Will you help?"

Shade looked was tempted to look away as she thought about this information. She wouldn't stop looking at Demitrex, because she felt that looking away would reveal a sense of guilt. Some of these details had already been reveal to her thanks to their communication over her transmitter. That old enemies were laying waste to Nocturnus boarders and individual tribes was hard to take. If not for Knuckle's mirror, she wouldn't have seen their own family and the disaster which was befalling them.

"I believe you." She finally answered. "You've mentioned it before, but you said we need a Chaos Emerald. Is that all?"

"We could leave this afternoon if we had one. I'm eager to get back as soon as possible, for if I don't, I fear what few tribal unions I've made will fall apart and we'll be attacked. . . this is rather urgent. I only came back to Earth to pick up more stragglers, and specifically you."

"I understand. I would like to come with you to the Twilight Cage. I'll come back before noon with a chaos emerald." Shade finally agreed to Demitrex's terms.

"Good." The old echidna smiled. "I'm glad to see the old ways live on inside your heart."

"Two things, before I run off to get it. . . First, I want to know what happened to your eyes. I haven't seen you face to face in a long time, and second: Why didn't you just have Kotok contact me? I knew and trusted him. It would have made coming to see you a lot easier.

"Kotok's fighter crashed in Sector Scylla while chasing pirates. We have not heard from him for over a month and believe he died in the impact. . . or worse, that he fell into a trap. As for my eyes. . . we only saw each other one or two times during your enlistment, didn't we?"

"Yes, I always reported to Kotok-."

"I remember. Heard your name often enough before you rebelled. Your work was good. As for my eye's, an attempt was made on my life. I was walking through the palace attempting to keep the peace between the Ivus tribe and ours when a sniper shot me from the side. He put too much lead on my head, and it blasted through both of my sockets. It was nothing we couldn't replace. This is another reason why I don't want someone like Sonic or Knuckles helping us with the rebuilding efforts. . . there's too much standing around and dealing openly with civilians. It's not a stealth mission like when they first came in. They are skilled warriors, if their location was publicly known at all times, I fear they could lose more than just their eyesight.

"That's why I've kept my helmet on this entire meeting. Explaining to Knuckles why I had to leave him behind wasn't easy. . ." Shade muttered. "We've talked about everything that's important to me. I want to get back to the Twilight Cage as fast as you do. Should I go get my things and that chaos emerald I've happened to have around for a while?"

"Do it. We've chatted here long enough-cough-" The man sputtered. "We can sort out more details later. Farewell, Prcurator Shade."

"Take care Demitrex." Shade bowed before leaving the room. Her hand touched the doorknob, but before she could twist it, her host spoke again.

"Before you go Shade. . . I want to know something myself. Is it true that Sonic defeated Chaos? Is he the one who was prophecied to bring balance among the rogue gods?"

"I don't know. They say he defeated the best of the water, and the beast of the mind. . . .but that's all. Why, is religion important to you?"

"Only when it is practice. I believe the multiverse has been trying to end. Earth has seen greater tragedies than ever, and it's always Sonic who stops them-all within short succession of one another. The Knuckles Clan gave all our existence and expiration date before Pachacamac changed made it completely secular. If it is true that Sonic had defeated the God of Water, and the God of the Mind, then only the God of Fire, and the God of Time remains. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be on any normal dimension while these events play out. The Twilight Cage might be the safest place to be. . .

"Sonic has never met a so called _God of Fire_ or a _God of Time_. I don't see where those entities would come from.

"If they were easy to see coming, then we wouldn't need prophets to warn us about them." Demitrex asserted. _*cough*_ "I'm wasting your time. Carry on. Come back when you're all done." He waved his hand as if their last conversation was completely unnecessary. Shade took a deep breath and walked into the next room.

 _There are no Gods, only oppressors-never helping us, and making life hard if we use technology to get ahead._ Shade murmured to herself. She left the room, glad that all forms of interaction where over. However, upon leaving the room she found herself face to face with one more individual, and one who was intent on delivering a message.

"Procruator Shade!" A fully armored Nocturnus Sentinal saluted his superior. Shade quickly took in the image of the Nocturnus Soldier. His uniform was based off the body of a snake, like most Nocturnus armors. There were horns on the armor's head like that of a Cerastes snake specifically. It also had glowing, complimentary orange decor in the standard locations of these types of suits.

"At ease legionary." Shade responded. The soldier in front of her let go of his salute and took off his helmet.

"Oh thanks-actually, I'm not a legionary, I'm a medic. You haven't seen this uniform yet have you?"

"Huh?" Shade questioned her previous statement. "I'm sorry, the orange markings-isn't that standard of the Ivus Tribe? Did something change?"

"A lot since the power vacuum actually." The Echidna responded. "My name is Jivad." He stuck his hand out for a shake. "Ivus tribe, fourth Nomark regionary. I was enlisted specifically by uncle Demitrex to help recruit you and overlook his recovery. It's flattering to meet you in person."

"Thanks." Shade answered, but she didn't take his hand. "But I need to be going. I have a chaos emerald to get ahold of so we can go home. If you wouldn't keep me busy. . ."

"Eeehhh. . . . Procurator Shade." The soldier's voice changed to a deep and serious tone. "I need to tell you something urgent, I'm sorry but. . ." He leaned in for a whisper. " _Someone has poisoned Demitrex. . . for your own sake, I beg of you. . . do not trust anyone here, none of the soldiers. . . not even me_."

Shade's eyes widened, was that why Demitrex was coughing so often? "I appreciate your warning. Stay vigilant. I'll be back close to noon. We're getting of this planet now." She nodded before running off. The soldier looked shocked over how lightly she had taken his warning, but it wasn't outside her reputation to do so.


	4. Chapter 4

Early the next morning, Knuckles was walking the Angle Island coast. Not far from the Marble Garden area he enjoyed spending most of his earlier days. The semi disciplined Guardian took walks like these all over the island on different parts of the month. His routine was to sweep the large landmass at a slow enough pace to notice evidence of new travelers. Truthfully, there were a few harmless researchers whom Knuckles had agreed to give passage after Tail's constant pleading. He also found keeping on good terms in the United Federation to be better than wondering if they'd swoop in and take the Master Emerald for themselves. _It doesn't really matter anyways._ Knuckles remembered. _Tails has been talking about all the strange things happening on Earth since our arrival. He's right, we need to open the portal back to Mobious and have Angle Island orbit Grand Metropolis-not Central City. I'm not sure if taking the Master Emerald back to Mobious will make Eggman will follow us there, but it's worth a shot._ He continued to recall a few words Tails left him about how humans were beginning to look on Mobians-both large and tiny-as threats to their way of life. Knuckles knew that in part they were right, but leaving Eggman on earth alone wasn't going to solve anything either. No matter what, Knuckles felt it was important to keep the balance of the world-or worlds for that matter. It just seemed like another random unspoken duty of the Master Emerald's guardian. While reciting these thoughts in his head, he heard someone running up behind him. "Knuckles." The voice was unmistakable. It was Shade-Knuckle's peaceful thoughts had been interrupted by an individual he was hoping to avoid, but fate had other plans.

"Shade?" Knuckles turned around as casually as he could. He was wearing his sunglasses since the sun was so low and often got in his eyes whenever he looked to the east. Of course, the added benefit was the lack of eye contact since Knuckles already was socially crippled. In spite of this, so long he kept his mouth shut or his words few, he came across as cool or even wise. Otherwise, his lack of knowledge on the modern world got the best of him and he said dumb things. He was also no good with girls-Rouge being the only one he interacted decently with at first since he absolutely hated her and initially felt no attraction.

"I spoke to Demitrex. Do you remember that Chaos Emerald we found in Marble Garden a few weeks ago? I would like to have it so that we can use it so we can enter the Twilight Cage. We have plans to leave this afternoon-Everything seems to be safe."

Knuckles paused. He wasn't sure what to say, as he wasn't expecting Shade to trust this new character. However, when they spoke in her hut last night, she seemed really compelled to go back and help her own people. Knuckles was just as surprised, as he was certain she was leaving for a time. How she was leaving, he had no idea, but he at least hoped that she wouldn't be trusting other Nocturnus soldiers. "Are you sure you trust him?" The guardian asked presently.

"I trust him enough. When I was signed to his division of the army long ago, my parents choose him because of his reputation for upholding his word and reasonable martial decisions. Demitrex is not a snake although many of the Nocturnus are. Demitrex's elite unit was left behind on Earth after the war and signed on as a special force for GUN. They have been working with them for the past few months under the condition that GUN helps them find a way to get back to the Twilight Cage. We can open up a portal there without the Master Emerald-but we can only make a small and temporary one in the vacuum of space. They've made a ship that can do it, but it's only been used once. We need another Chaos Emerald so that the device will recharge at a decent rate, otherwise it may be a month before I can come back."

"Is that all?" Knuckles wanted more clarification.

"There's a lot I could explain Knuckles, but it's. . . complicated. My people are suffering at the hands of pirates and apparently the N'rrgal who are taking advantage of the decentralized power. Demitrex knows that most people would see me as a hero-actually, he thinks that some of them would accept me there because they think I manipulated you and Sonic into helping me take down IX. Since I supposedly used you as tools. . . they have nothing against me, but some of them despise you and Sonic-seeing them only as foreign invaders doing what foreign invaders do-taking out enemy command for their own selfish reasons."

"Hmph. That's pretty close minded."

"It is. . .but it's how my people are." Shade apologized. "I'm sorry Knuckles, I know you want to come along, but I really don't want you or Sonic coming with me. The mission that we're taking will not be a stealthy one."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Knuckles interrupted. "You explained this to me before. You've been talking to Demitrex via transmitter for a while. You already explained this stuff." The echinda sounded irritated at the repitition. "I still wish you were going with somone you actually trusted." He added in a disspointed voice. A few moments of silence passed before Shade slowly spilled the next piece of information.

"Demitrex-he was already shot in the head once because of his political stances."

"Shot in the head? How's he still alive?!"

"The assassin put too much lead on his target. . . the bullet pierced both of his eyes instead. Now he has mechanical ones. I was aware of how dirty the Nocturnus Clan play-that's why I didn't even remove my helmet when I want to meet Demitrex."

"I. . . I don't like the sound of that Shade." Knuckles began to protest.

"I know Knuckles, but it's the only way. When we were the underdogs. . . when we first entered the Twilight Cage, we had an entire team, a ship and few people even knew who we were. We were like the perfect stealth operation with some of the world's greatest heroes on board. Now so many people have it out for us, and we'd be in well known locations so often that it's just not a good idea to take you with us-"

"It's not a good idea for anyone to go period!"

"Knuckles! You know I have too! The Zoah and the N'rrgal have such a grudge against us, what do you think they will do over the next period of years? If they Twilight Cage was completely closed off. . . then this never would have happened. The tribes would have stayed united and probably survived, but now that some of them have hope of escaping-they've splintered off into different cells. The Imperialists, and the Rehabituats. The lack of unity will either get them all killed, or the free tribes will escape back into Mobious. I know you've told me that their technological advantages aren't much better than any of the other countries that exist now. There is no need to worry about the Rehabituats attempting Imperialism again." Shade stated her case in as calm a fashion as she could.

"You think that you can change all this?"

" _We've_ already changed so much." She corrected. "I want to go there and help Demitrex reestablish order and testify before the other rulers. Once we've established order in a few areas, I may come back and ask for your and Sonic's help-depending on how the other tribes feel about it. What's most important to me is the state of my people-they're the reason I rebelled-and they're the reason I want to go back. Please understand Knuckles, I have nothing against you and Tikal, but ever since I've lived here. . ." Shade stopped talking for a few moments. The silence was becoming awkward, Knuckles felt like he had to break it.

"You don't belong here." He answered for her. "You have a people to go back too. . . yeah. . . I know."

"I appreciate everything you and Tikal have tried to do for me. Living as the last of your kind must be depressing-"

"It's not, because I don't think about it." Knuckles revealed before looking off into the sunrise. "I've never been that curious about the past. Even with Tikal talks about it. . . I hardly listen. The past is just a way for some people to feel all sorts of pain. I saw how it drives Shadow. . . I've seen how Tails worries about the future. He's so good hearted that the more he finds out about the world, the more it starts to crush him. That's why this is all I've ever been-distant."

"Living here with you and Shade has shown me how nice people can be. The way Amy is outgoing and was willing to help me find all the things I needed was so touching compared to some of my own people. I admire you and your dedication to guarding the Master Emerald and keeping balance in the world." Shade stated with great seriousness. "But when I was staying here. . . something didn't feel right. I was trained to be proactive. . . not passive. My clan and their needs is such a driving force in my previous life that even when I was doing what was right, it felt like I had betrayed them. Now that Ix is gone and they need my help, I can't just ignore them. They are-"

"Your family." Knuckles let the words slip. He wasn't sure why he so strongly felt the need to say it, but his empathy had grown to such an extent that he knew where Shade's heart was at. "I won't stop you. . . if I could save my species. . . or-my tribe really-I would." He added. "I don't think about it now or why I'm the only one left since it might be painful, but I won't stop you from doing what you need too." He finally answered. _*sigh*_ "The Chaos Emerald, I haven't moved it, you know where it is."

Shade was trying to think of what to say, but she couldn't. She knew that he cared a lot about her although the two hadn't exactly grown close of the course of the last two months. She was always off on her own and feeling like she didn't fit in. It was like Shade had said-she was trained to be proactive. Immense guilt had occupied her mind since her defection from the Clan, even if technically it was Ix who was the traitor. "I remember." She spoke. "Knuckles. . . I'd like to thank you-"

"It's just my job." Knuckles interrupted once again. "To bring balance, and I guess-to preserve my people. They were conquerors-I know-but they still shouldn't be wiped out." He tried to answer as reasonably as possible-removing his pride as a factor since his own emotions were beginning to wreck havock on the inside. The two continued to stand in place. Knuckles realized that this may be the beginning of the end. He briefly remembered times in the past when he attempted to subtly date or learn more about Shade, but she had always remained either neutral or seemed uninterested whenever he tried. He wasn't about to bring that up now and make the tension worse. Slowly, the moments passed. Still, no words were spoken and Shade began to turn around.

"I'll see you again some time in the future. I don't think I could forget you or anyone else on our long journey. I'll think about you often." The girl started to walk off.

"I will too." Knuckles said a little quietly. Even as he said this, his throat was feeling clogged.

"I have a lot of goodbyes to say once I pack my things. . . I probably won't be able to find Sonic, but I'll need to give Amy and Cream a hug. At least I can always find Tikal around here."

"Yeah." Knuckles somehow forced that last word out. "She's always doing something." He was amazed that his voice didn't sound broken as he said it.

Shade finally sped off. Her feet could move fast-possibly even faster than Knuckles. The guardian tried to deny it, but he felt like she was leaving him forever. One side of him wanted to make her stay-he might have even had the power to do it simply by denying her the emerald, but he knew that wasn't right. The other side of him wanted to recluse into a thicker part of this island while this inner storm calmed down. Knuckle's wasn't sure what was going on inside of him, but he didn't like it. A few seconds passed and he realized the truth. It was times like these that he most stubbornly thought about his duty, and refused to think about the past or future. That was his way of coping with things in life. It was how Knuckles coped with years of being alone.


	5. Chapter 5

Inside the jungle of Angel Island, the sound of a slowly marching individual might be heard. The sound of shoes traversing one of the worn paths may have been picked up far away if it wasn't for the constant breeze rustling huge leaves just overhead. Salty air couldn't be smelled so easily this far inland. It made little difference to Knuckles-just so long the place felt isheltered/i was all that he cared about. The echidna had been walking for a while. He wasn't sure how long it had been, and whenever he tried to think, this mind was completely blank. The many hours spent on this island alone had forced him to be introspective. Even if other people thought he was stupid, he knew a lot about Angle Island's routes, and various things about the plants and animals inhabiting it. The company of "modern" people brought out the worst of him. It made him look naive, and having so little interaction with people in his youth made him terrible at it. "Maybe it's just better that I'm alone, after all, I've been this way for so long." He ministered to himself. "Like other things. . . maybe it's best if I just leave it in the past."

Knuckles wasn't feeling well. Upon following the path, he found a large rock with a mostly flat surface. There was a break in the trees which allowed sunlight to fall onto it during the afternoon-depending on Angle Island's geographical location. iI could use a break./i He determined. Soon enough, his body crawled on top of the large stone and he laid down with his face to the sky. iThis is a good place to be. . . the perfect place to be right now./i He felt the rock against his back. iIt's not like I could have done anything about her leaving anyways. If she wants to go back to her people, then she should. Even I would return to my people-if I had one-I think./i Knuckles wasn't really sure about that last line. Even though his glasses were on, he closed his eyes either way. There was nothing to do but wait-wait like he always had. He'd wait for the next big thing to happen in his life, or till he no longer felt like waiting and wanted to hunt for treasure. His life was so passive, and everything ever worth doing seemed to come to him-not the other way around. That wasn't about to change, but that was also why it sucked Shade was leaving. She had basically come to him, and after nearly two months-she was gone. iThat's just life. You can't expect everything to happen perfectly. Not like she didn't know other guys she was probably interested in the army./i He reasoned-still reinforcing the fact in his mind that Shade had an entire iworld/i she had come from. She was probably eager to return to it. He couldn't just make her stay on Angle Island and live there when she wanted to return to her own people. "I don't know why I was given this job-why it was my fate, but I've just come to accept it. At least I have a purpose in my life." He whispered before dozing off for a nap.

* * * * * *

"Knuckles!" The echidna was startled from his sleep. With his body in a jitter, his eyes popped open and he looked straight up. Peeping down at him was Tikal's over-looming face. It was hovering right over him with a disgruntled, and disappointed look. Knuckles frowned as his eyes looked deep into hers. His body slid forward and out from underneath her judging look.

"Tikal?" He asked a little quietly-wondering if he was really awake. "What are you doing here? If this is another dream-"

"No Knuckles. . . I'm really here." Tikal answered. "I want to know what you think iyou're/i doing here. Do you even realize what is happening?"

"Tikal. . . we both know you aren't going to work on that smoked salmon recipe today. I'll get the wood-"

"Knuckles! That's not what I'm talking about!" Tikal interrupted him profusely.

iYeesh. . . /i Knuckles thought to himself. iI remember the first time we all met her. . . Tikal was so soft spoken and nice. Why does she think she can get angry with me all the time now? She claims she's my aunt. . . and then she acts like my mom!/i "What? Then what are you talking about?" He spoke in genuine confusion.

"Knuckles. . . Shade is gone! She gave me a hug and told me that she was leaving for the Twilight Cage-what are you going to do about it?"

"Oh, that? You're bothering me about that?" Knuckles raised one of his over sized hands and scratched his head. "That's nothing-and there's nothing I could do about it anyways. Why are you so upset?" He circled forty-five degrees to the edge of the rock and collapsed back onto it-only this time his head wasn't directly underneath Tikal's face.

"Knuckles. . ."

"That's my name! Stop wearing it out!" Knuckles raised his hand and waved it as if he already knew what Tikal was going to say. "You're not my parent! can't you calm down when you want to talk about something? I just want to go back to sleep."

"I-I am pretty upset. . . I'm sorry Knuckles." Tikal suddenly became self conscious. "But even if I am angry, we need to talk about this. I don't think you realized what just happened!" Her voice was much softer this time around.

"Shade's gone." Knuckle's tone lost some of it's malice. "It was her choice to leave, and there's nothing I could do about it. At least she gave you a hug before she left. She'll probably give Amy one too. . . and Cream. Because she's not interested in me apparently." He crossed his arms and put his hands behind his head to make an unconventional pillow.

"Are you sure she didn't avoid giving you a hug for the opposite reason? Shade is reclusive-she isn't one to show her real feelings-"

"Yeah, that's what I kept telling myself." Knuckles interrupted Tikal for the second time. "I always said; 'She's just alone because she left everything she knew behind. She'll need time to adjust to living up here. Once she accepts that the Twilight Cage is closed and this is her life now, she'll open up, and I can bring some joy into her life. Well. . . I was wrong. I should have realized that, but once again I had no clue how people from the civilized world act. I was tricked. . . but this time I was tricked by myself. I should have saw this happening-it's not like she ever fit in here anyways, right?" He sounded humble as he said these last lines-like he was looking for Tikal's input. He didn't seem irritated with her anymore.

"I can't tell you what Shade is thinking, but she should have been able to live here with the two of us easily so long she felt she had a new family. I'm sorry Knuckles, but I have to ask-did you even try?" Tikal referred to the ongoing conundrum which had plagued Knuckle's mind for days. Had Knuckles made a real effort to obtain Shade's hand in the slightest?

"I tried so many times." He sighed in disgust. "Hey Shade! Want to go to the beach and look for seashells? Hey Shade! Want to climb up the side of giant ice glaciers with me? Hey Shade! Want to go deep inside Angel Island and look at all the natural crystal wonders with me? Nope! She'd rather stay inside and mope rather than get some fresh air or actually enjoy the world around her. She's just a recluse. . . and a technologically obsessed one at that. I still don't know how she made it as a soldier."

"How can you say that about her when she beat you in a fight?"

"She had help-something I've never really had. I hate it when I have to work with Sonic. . . or I used too. I still hate technology and big cities."

"Shade wasn't obsessed with her computer or wishing she had a modern life. I think her strength and high position as a soldier say the opposite about her. But you need to think about this from her perspective."

"I Know. . . she just betrayed her people-or really-Ix betrayed her and everyone. She had no choice but to defect. . . however, she felt like she was damning her people instead when the Twilight Cage was closed because of her actions. She didn't want it to happen, but she knew it was the only way. It's no wonder she never wanted to do anything. I was hoping that after a month was over, she'd get over it. She agreed with us that we had to close the portal though. . . GUN found a way to take her back without leaving a huge rift for open traffic in the sky. I wonder if I could do something similar with the Master Emerald, but I haven't practiced making things like wormholes before."

"You can learn things like that in time. . . I was hoping you'd learn more from me at this point, but I was an incomplete student. My grandmother passed away before she could teach a lot to me. . . I'm sorry I can't teach you more Knuckles. . ."

"It's not your fault. But Tikal! If I were Shade and had a chance to go back to the Twilight Cage-I would. She took an oath to protect her people, and now they need her back more than anyone! Did she tell you the whole story? Do you understand now why I let her go?"

"Yes, I do. She also told me why she couldn't take you or even Sonic as powerful as he is. I'm not sure I believe her."

"I'm not sure that I do either, but if she felt like she needed to lie to get away from me-then that's all that matters. I tried to get closer to her. I treated her like a gentleman would. She made no responses and is worried about other things in life. All I can do is respect her decision. Things just go back to the way they were-besides-she'll come back." Knuckles suggested. "It's not like she's saying goodbye forever. I'm sure she'll drop by in a few months once everything's cleared up. At least then I can say I was in a restaurant with her-and several other people like Sonic who are always making fun of me." He mentioned the facts in a slightly disgruntled manner.

"I think you're wrong." Tikal instilled seriously. "I mean-I think she will come back-but on what terms? You'll be just a friend to her. She'll say hello to everyone for a few hours and maybe ask Tails for help. But she'll only continue to become more distant. . . Knuckles-she used to have a life back there."

"I know! That's what I'm saying-" Knuckles found it difficult to keep his frustration and sadness in. "She had a military-a nationally-and a family. She said she looked into the Occus mirror and saw her parents suffering at the hand of pirates. She hasn't seen them since she was a child, but now that the wars are over and the Nocturnus Clan is dissolved, she can see them again. She has something to go back too-and I can't make her stay. I couldn't have made her stay! You know that!"

"I'm not saying you should have done that. . . I only wanted to know if you even tried to icourt/i her, and you did." Tikal used the term court, unaware of how things were done in the modern era. "But are you really going to be happy with yourself if she's reduced to being your friend? Knuckle's once she leaves, things won't be the same between you ever again!"

"They never were that way Tikal. Her mind was somewhere else. . . and I'm just a secluded, uncharismatic relic of the past."

"Don't say that about yourself-and answer the question. Will you be happy if you let her go?"

"It's true! What do you think? Do you think I'm happy to let the only girl I've ever shown interest in leave like this? Why do YOU care so much?"

"Because! It's our responsibility to continue our people! I must pass down my knowledge-The Master Emerald forever needs a keeper!"

"It's not like Shade is the only girl out there-"

"She's the only one you'd care to give a chance! Admit it!"

"That is true, but-"

"Knuckles! Why are you here? Have you ever asked yourself that? The entire Knuckles Clan was completely wiped out, but you are still alive. You are guarding the Master Emerald, and you exist at the proper time to see new echidna's come back into our world. What do think of that?"

"The only reasonable thing I can-nothing. I only care about the Master Emerald's safty because if someone doesn't, then the world could fall into choas. It's not like I could be good at much else anyways. If you are so worried about restablishing the Knuckle's Tribe bloodline. . . then why don't you leave with Shade yourself?"

"What!?"

"Go on with her, you're half Nocturnus you claim anyways, right? Find a nice boyfriend. . . get married and have some kids. Teach them all the stuff you can't seem to drill inside my head. I'll just stay on this island and thing's will be back to the way they used to be! If you want something so badly, then do it yourself-don't try an force it on me!"

Tikal had nothing to say for several seconds. She was shocked that Knuckles would suggest such irrational things.

"Knuckles, I couldn't find anyone worth it in the Nocturnus Clan, and if I had any children with a male from their clan. . . I doubt they would be willing to say that my children are somehow the rebirth of my divinely wiped out tribe. That's not how family lines work in marriages. . . and no-I will not have children out of wedlock. That would be a disgrace to my family and especially my grandmother. Even if I did attempt that-no one would seriously say that they carry on the Knuckle's Clan name. I am not going to have children for such selfish reasons! This is your responsibility!"

"More responsibility. I didn't ask to become the guardian of the Master Emerald you know-some days I'm not even sure why I'm doing it! How can you say that I have to do this? How can you think that I can just make Shade like me? Look at Amy and how much she chases Sonic-it's doing her a lot of good isn't it?"

"All I know. . . is that if you don't take this chance. . . you might regret it the rest of your life." Tikal softened her speech to be extremely slow and compassionate. Knuckles's eyes were not visible behind his glasses, but his eyebrows relaxed at this comment. "Shade left one more thing for you before she left. She said that she knew you wouldn't accept it. . . but you need it more than she does. Here." Tikal pulled the Occus mirror out from behind her and laid it on the Stone near Knuckle's face.

"I don't want that."

"Then leave it here and let the elements destroy it. She told me your story about how you could only see yourself in it. . . I don't think you're that narrcisstic. I think you just need to look into it longer. Shade said you could use this to find parts of the Master Emerald. . . I wonder if she thought you could look at her through it and know she was okay when you got worried." Tikal explained.

"Well, that's very nice of her, but like I said-I don't want it." Knuckles asserted.

Tikal responded with a sigh. "I hope you will at least think on this. It will only be a few hours before Shade is gone." Her voice weakened as the last words were spoken. Slowly, she began to tread away from Knuckles.

"Tikal-you can tell me all this stuff you want about my destiny, and your people. . . you claim that you're my aunt. How do you know that? It's something you just made up to gain some kind of authority over me. . . isn't it?" Knuckles wasn't done accusing Tikal yet. His frustration and desire to go back to the days he was completely alone were taking over him.

"You are not ready for that story yet. I've tried to show you the past before. You. . . you didn't even care." Tikal remembered Knuckle's mild reactions to the visions he had faced during the events leading up to Perfect Chaos flooding Station Square.

"Because. . . people like Shadow only think about the past. It binds them and makes them unable to enjoy life. They become slaves to it. . . my solution is easy. Don't think about. . . it's just Shade, I've already moved on. You should too." Knuckles almost sounded wise albeit impersonal.

"We all say that we can move on Knuckles." Tikal looked up into the deep blue sky in a spot where the tree leaves parted above her. "But the truth is, we remember everything, and carry it with us at all times. Be thankful, you've never had to live with the guilt of knowing what you could have stopped-or had." She finished speaking, and walked into the distance.

"Doesn't fool me. Still not getting involved!" Knuckles called back, but Tikal gave no answer. This time she was truly done speaking, and content to leave Knuckles alone. iStupid girl!/i He thought to himself. iAll women are just crazy! Why should I make an effort to be with one! It's not worth it. I'm not held back by desires or the past-the only desire that matters to me, is the Master Emerald!/i His eyes looked as far "up" as they could to see the edges of the mirror right beside his head. iI'm not looking in that thing. I'm not going to start an endless cycle of pain and regret. This is a waste of time, and it's not going to grip me yet. I'm Knuckles-and I don't need anyone!/i The words might have felt better if they were spoken, but somehow, he worried it would sound stupidly defiant. Perhaps, that was because it really was how he felt deep down inside. Having no one early in life sucked, but he wasn't going to remember it.


	6. Chapter 6

"We're ready to take off whenever you are." A nocturnus clan soldier reported.

Shade ceased spacing out. She had been staring out into the ocean for several minutes reflecting on her life up to this point. It had been too long since she had been home-which was ironic since "home" was the very place she and her people had been trying to escape for years. "Thank you. Tell Demitrex that I'm ready at a moment's notice." Shade looked down at her standard issue soldier's pack, which she had kept since her defection.

"You can tell him yourself." Demitrex's voice came from behind. The procruator turned her head to view the echidna who spoke. "It's something to behold, isn't it? My generation often speaks about how the ocean was a deep blue. Must seem strange after looking at purple water all these years on our homeworld."

"It is." Shade spoke softly.

"Makes it easy to get lost in thoughts. Now we just long to go back to the prison we were forced into. Who knew we'd miss our prison so much?"

"Yeah." A pat answer was all Shade felt like giving.

"Meh. . . don't hold onto the past too much. With knowledge of how to open the rift, we can take everyone back to the world we belong in. Mobious will see echidna's once again. In meantime, I'm happy to kiss this planet full of hairless apes goodbye." Demitrex muttered cynically. "It's good to have you back-time for us to load up."

Shade nodded before grabbing her bags. It wasn't quite noon, and Angel Island could be seen in the distance. She was going to miss the mystical place, but her mind was made up. Her people-and her parents needed her. She was only going to live once, and if she didn't do this, she'd hate herself. It was time to stop being so insecure and mopey-it was time to do something as she'd been trained. This is who she really was.

Within moments, Shade had made her way through the launch base and entered the G.U.N. space ship. Several soldiers were sitting in the back with a few other supplies, but Demitrex and his personal medic insisted that Shade join them in the cockpit. It was long before the launch sequence was initiated and everyone was airborne. Several minutes would pass before they'd breach the earth's atmosphere. This left plenty of time for conversation between Shade and her commander, but she wasn't interested in speech.

"Demitrex, I think you should get your metabolism going." The medic pulled out a stick of food wrapped in some silver material. He unwrapped it, and it appeared to be some kind of fruit bar. "This should help keep your strength up."

"Thank you Jivad." Demitrex responded. He took a big bite of the product and began to chew it.

"How about you Shade? It's probably been a while since you've enjoyed true Nocturnus sustenance." The mammal held such a bar of food right in front of her.

"No thanks." Shade waved her hand in a negative manner towards the medic's offer.

"You sure? Ever heard of Shabew Nemset? This was made by the same company that sends those free meals to soldiers on holidays."

"I'm fine. You have my gratitude, but I'm certain I'll be fine without it."

The medic put the rest of his food away and shrugged unhappily. He then looked at his wrist interface for the time before looking back at his commander who was busily chewing away. A few moments passed, and the medic walked over to on of the storage chambers near the cockpit. It was closed by a high level security door and required a card to use. Upon opening it up, the medic peaked inside. He looked at his wrist once more as an alarmed expression spread across his face. "P-Procruator Shade?" He spoke timidly.

Shade established eye contact with the medic. His concern almost overtook her own countenance. "Hm?" She asked as she got up from her chair. The echidna beckoned for her to come closer. She did and also peered into the storage room. What she saw shocked her-a series of Nocturnus explosives stacked in huge crates with some kind of receiver placed on each of them. Her jaw dropped as she tried to think fast of what was happening. "Are-those armed explosives?"

"Wait-that's" The medic pointed to one box in particular. Shade looked at, but nothing seemed unique about it.

"Ung-!" Shade was suddenly grabbed and forced forwards into the room. She was caught off guard, and off balance. Her body tumbled forward as she heard the doors close behind her. "No!" She realized too quickly she'd been tricked. "What are you doing!?"

"You should be ashamed of yourself." The medic spoke in a disgusted tone before sliding his card through the security slot and locking the doors. Next, his left arm took the card from his right and projected a wrist blade. He slashed the locking device-ensuring it would stay locked no matter what.

"Jivad. . . what that hell are you doing?" Demitrex spoke up as he caught sight of the harsh action. "I said keep watch of her-not to lock-"

"Shut up." Jivad's right hand transformed into a blaster which he aimed at Demitrex's head. "You're old I'll make this easy for you to understand-you didn't get it right the first time, but Tribe Ivus is merciful, so maybe you'll get it right this time. . ." Jivad moved to the next door which connected the cockpit to the passenger's quarters. He kept his arm aimed at his commander the entire time as he slid his card down the security slot to cut off the cockpit to the remaining part of the ship. He then slashed this locking device also, making sure it couldn't be opened from either side. "You denied us once, and you lost your eyes for it. . . I have the papers right here, and unlike Shade you were dumb enough to let me drug you. Don't bother trying to shoot me-the poison has entered your blood stream by now. Your energy is totally sapped. Sign the dotted line, and everyone gets off this ship fine." Jivad presented about three papers and a pen for Demitrex to sign with. The commander just looked at him dumbly-or so it seemed since his eyes were no longer capable of exact expressions.

"Really. . . that what this is all about? You mean the attempt on my life wasn't even an attempt? You purposefully took out my eyes as a warning?" He asked curiously.

"Not me-the assassin, but yes. We told you at first that if you didn't do what we wanted, that you were playing a dangerous game. You wouldn't listen. I can blow this whole ship whenever I want too. I can just kill you and commandeer it-and when you're dead we'll just get the next in line to sign our alliance."

"You're dumb if you think my family is going to either trust yours or give into your demands after this." Demitrex spoke in a demeaning manner.

"Your sons don't like up with your ideas nearly as much as you think. I should know, I used to talk to them all the time. What's it going to be? Just sign it and get this over with! Your death means nothing." Jivad continued to point his blaster intently in Demitrex's direction.

* * *

Knuckles traversed the hot terrain of Sandapolis Zone just outside a large forgotten temple. He bore a green scarf around his muzzle to keep the sand out-a gift Cream had given him on his last birthday. The sunshades were doing their job of keeping his eyes protected in the wind. That was the problem this time of year-Sandapolis Zone was lucky that all the sand hadn't blown right off given how much Angel Island moved. Steadily, Knuckles walked between large pillars and came into the huge building. The inside was very peculiar-full of light blue, red, and orange markings on the walls. There were images of humans, Hedgehogs, and Echidnas. Sandapolis Zone was a strange place on Angel Island, since it had murals depicting humans while most other remnants of civilization had none. The history of Angel Island was still largely a mystery to Knuckles-but that was exactly why he was here. In front of him-at the center of this strange structure-an altar laid. Behind it was a huge depiction of a hedgehog and an echidna praying over a huge gemstone. It didn't look exactly the same as the Master Emerald, but that was probably due to artistic license. Even more interesting was the hedgehog and the echidna's bodies. They were extremely humanlike-another result of the same strange style.

The guardian had come here for a specific reason. His inner feelings still being suppressed thanks to Shade's sudden departure. Walking forward-Knuckle's produced the Master Emerald out of thin air. It appeared with little more than a dull flash in his hand. Knuckles walked forward and placed the large jewel into the altar-watching it slowly grow in size as he did. "That finishes it." He spoke. The next action he took, was to circle around the diamond and look over its top to the temple's front entrance. _I still don't know why I was given this job. . ._ He thought even more intently on his earliest days on the island. He existed for little reason other than to protect the world's most powerful artifact. His life had been filled with few selfish pleasures. Many people considered him either crazy, or outright stupid, but they didn't understand. Something had always compelled Knuckles to take care of this artifact no matter what the cost. Lately, that intense desire had been fading. The strange compulsion had been fading since the time Shadow had appeared and almost used the A.R.K. to destroy the world. Maybe it was alright that his duty had seemed less important-maybe it was only natural that he'd let go of this meaning as he got older. Knuckles wasn't sure-all that he did know was that if he didn't protect this gem, then no one would. He was objectively the best person for the job since unlike other people or organizations-he had no intention of misusing it.

"Missuse. . ." He verbalized the last word as if weighed heavily on his mind. True-the Master Emerald was not the most important thing to him at the moment-was it? Knuckles put his hand underneath his green scarf. The Occus mirror was hanging from his neck. He could use it-but is that really what he wanted? Would he only see himself again? Perhaps, he'd see Shade and shatter the loose mental barrier keeping him from emotionally losing it right now. "No. . . not yet." More thoughts about his purpose, and his own people's past attempted to flood his mind. He dismissed them.

"I'm not sure if it would be missuse. . ." He spoke once more before looking out the temple doors into the huge mountain at Angel Island's Center. "I've learned a few things since I first started this job." Knuckles pressed his hand on top of the Master Emerald and focused on the Island's energy. "The Island's flight pattern. I can control it. . . and I have been for almost half a year." Knuckles recalled his first attempts to take the Island away from United Federation Waters in order to avoid having to let human soldiers "inspect" his "unidentified aircraft." The things those stupid humans made up just so they could steal his Master Emerald was ridiculous.

 _Are you going to be happy with your decision to let Shade go?_ Those weren't the exact words Tikal had used, but they were repeating in his mind. "Probably not, but it's her choice. . . not mine." Knuckles knew he couldn't stop her from leaving. That was why he was doing all he could not to think about that, or the inevitable fact that this life change would probably only make Shade grow even more distant from himself and the rest of the Sonic crew. "It's no good to think on that. I'm not going to fall into a state of moping and self pity." He felt the need to verbalize his thoughts once more.

*sigh* "It's true though, isn't it?" Knuckles finally faced it. "I can't move on. . . everything that ever happened to me in life _did_ just happen to me. I never sought it-it came to me. The Master Emerald. . . Tikal. . . Shade. The real reason I won't think about the past or the future is because I'm afraid." He fully admitted. "I just don't see what else I'm supposed to do. . . but maybe being proactive would make a good start." His brain began calculating a move which was rather specific. Knuckles closed his eyes and wrapped one arm around the enormous emerald. This time, his mind remembered images of his great fight with Mecha Sonic atop Sky Sanctuary. _But what can I do?_ He recalled how the blue machine would jump on top of the emerald and charge with it's power freely. _Even Ix did the same thing, and when I caught it. . ._ Knuckles remembered holding the Master Emerald in both his hands as he fell into the clouds. He was expecting to fall into the ocean-and he would have if not for Sonic's sudden rescue. However, this moment of panic had spurred the most intense connection with the Master Emerald he'd ever had. His body began to glow white, and he felt his injuries healed. He could lift the entire gem with one arm, and energy flowed through his blood stream. This was the time-the first time-that Knuckles had experienced what Sonic called "his super form." He had always kept the possibility in mind, but he wasn't sure he could ever achieve it again. In fact, he wasn't even sure it was the same kind of "super form" Sonic and his metallic counterpart had achieved. He changed the wrong color. . . and he wasn't sure that he could fly, or shoot orbs of energy.

"Stop. . ." He thought he heard Tikal's voice again. It wasn't really her-just his own mind trying to belittle him. "If you don't do this for yourself, then you'll never have the chance again! You have to prove how much she means to you-and what you mean to her!"

"Easy for you to say-" Knuckles argued with this made up version of Tikal inside his head. "But you keep forgetting the most important part-what can I do?" It was then that Knuckles heard a brand new voice, whose origin he could not identify.

 _"You already know what you can do. You are just afraid to do it."_

Not sure if it came from within his head, or it was his own diluted mind playing tricks on him-Knuckles took a deep breath.

"I know what I can do. . . but is it worth it?" He closed his eyes once again and concentrated fiercely. His left hand began to grip and stroke the handle of his mirror. "It's always worth it-when it's the only thing you can do." The echidna was strangely determined. "Tikal. . . you're right. I'm not going to regret this the rest of my life." Knuckles lept up onto the Master Emerald. One knee came down with one hand atop it's surface. "I'm ready." He looked at the mountain in the distance once more. "I'm ready to act like a real person-not some soulless guardian only living for duty."

Effortlessly, the energy began to flow inside his body. His cells and bloodstream felt supercharge. A bright white glow began to emit from his skin as he stood up entirely and stretched back like someone about to yawn. "Aaaugh!" The transformation was complete. He looked down at his right hand and clenched it into a fist. "It's over?" He asked surprisingly. Behind him, he felt a _deep_ and _fluid_ presence loom. His ability to sense chaos energy was extremely _heightened_. With the twist of his head, he peered behind himself. "Chaos!" Knuckles was surprised by the water monster's presence. Sure enough, the large green eyes of an over-sized Chao was looking right at him. "I have to go. . . take care of the Master Emerald and Tikal for me while I'm gone. I know I can trust you to do it." Knuckles turned back towards the entrance of the time and poised to take off. Chaos made no response-Knuckles never believed he had heard the beast speak anyways. With one more deep breath, Knuckles prepared to take off. "It's time for me to go, and I'm already late. That bus better have room for one more!" He expressed before blasting forward. All he left behind was a translucent pink blur.

Knuckle's legs cycled forward at amazing speed. He was thousands of feet away from Angel Island's central mountain. The giant geographical feature was his target-he was about to do something he had only seen once or twice in the Sandapolis hieroglyphics, but he had studied the picture enough to understand the concept. _Build speed-build speed._ He focused inward while sand kicked up behind him. The heat of the sun was hardly affecting his body, and the wind was blowing against his back. The buildings and palm passing by at such a high rate that he feared losing control. He couldn't comprehend how fast his feet were moving, what he was doing felt like it was purely instinctual. This wasn't the first time he had operated only by some strange compulsion in his heart. The first time he had met Sonic-and knocked him out of his Super Form was one such instinctual compulsion. Knuckles only had vague ideas of what could be done with the Master Emerald or chaos control, but he seemed capable of repeating them. Soon, he was blasting through the palm tree infested inland. Next, he passed the Marble Garden ruins resting peacefully near the island's own volcano.

Imagery of Sandapolis hieroglyphics came back to his mind. They depicted what appeared to be a hedgehog speeding right up Angel Island's great mountain and ascending into the sky. As Knuckle's feet touched the true mountainside, his body shifted horizontally. He was now running up the mountain base with nothing but the blue sky ahead of him. His head turned towards the coast of Central City in the distance. His face penetrated one cloud, and then several more. He was high-higher than he was willing to climb on one adventurous day where he thought that standing on this volcano and looking down into it's mouth might be fun. Knuckles closed his eyes-suddenly, he couldn't feel anything with his feet. He continued to jettison up and pierce even more clouds. _The mountain-it's gone_. He was filled with both fear and excitement as he realized that he'd taken off. His speed was still massive, but it was slowing down. The sky seemed to be losing it's color as he got higher up. _I-I should be high enough_. He was afraid to look back down, but he knew that he had too. Hastily Knuckles flipped. He took a deep breath as he saw how fearfully high he was-and that was only above Angel Island-not the grounded land mass at sea level. "Shade!" He expressed as his eyes frantically began looking over Central City. The launch base on the outskirts was easy to recognize-or maybe it was his super powers heightening his senses. He still felt empowered-and he figured he should use these powers before they ran out. Moving into a glide, the echidna put both fists forward and began to steer for the location in general.

* * *

Jivad and Demitrex looked at each other squarely. One was buckled into a chair with the tin wrapper of a fruit bar right beside him-the other was still ready to blast the former within another second. "Come on! Make your choice already! You're going to sign the papers and put and end to this anarchist discord before the echidna race is finished!"

*Bam* Shade struck the door she'd been locked behind with all her might several times. It caused Jivad to look back, but not for long.

"You really believe that?" Demitrex tried to reason with his.

"Of course I do! You're leading the tribes to ruin-the division is your fault. You are now a danger to our entire race!"

"No-I didn't mean that!" Demitrex answered in a surprisingly snarky manner. "Do you really believe that I'm just going to sign over my people's sovereignty? Your side of the family's always been stupid. I don't doubt you're just another imperialist like the rest?"

"What is wrong with you? I'm pointing a gun right at your chest!"

"I don't know. I guess I doubt my own nephew would shoot me in the heart. Is there a reason you've waited till now of all times to force me by gunpoint?" Demitrex wondered out loud. His head moved a slightly to view the entire cockpit. In front of him, he could see the ship flying on autopilot since he had specifically stated that the route should be pre-programmed and no human personal were allowed to accompany them. "You're pressed for time aren't you? You didn't have any hope of cornering me once we got back to the Twilight Cage, that's what's going on here, isn't it?

"What?" Jivad spouted in defiance.

"I mean really boy, what were you thinking?" Demitrex had no respect for the threat at this point. "You probably thought that we'd be on Earth a lot longer than we actually were. What I'm looking at here is one of the sloppiest attempts to salvage an assassination/blackmail attempt in my life, and that's saying something for a Nocturnus. Was this your brilliant idea to go on this mission?"

"You are not calling any bluffs. You're poisoned and can't do a damn thing. I'm going to shoot you if you don't shut up and write!"

"I would be poisoned. . ." _pfft._ Demitrex spat out what small part of the fruit bar he'd chewed up. He unclenched one of his hands and revealed the rest of bar which he had been hiding all along. "I checked my weapons this morning. . . did you know my kepach wasn't working? I might have guessed who did it. Your strange behavior as my personal doctor and always pretending to be so helpful and friendly never did you any service. I'll be honest with you Jivad-you're pathetic. You're not willing to shoot me, and you can't afford to let this mission fail can you? They won't take you back if you don't succeed."

"No-Say whatever you want, but you have till we reach the Twilight Cage before I blast your head off. I'm not playing your game-give it all the time you need to think about it, but once we reach the Twilight Cage, then my safety is compromised and you're dead if you haven't complied!"

"Before you throw your life away on this, as your uncle, I think I can get you fewer years in jail if you give this whole thing up right now."

"You still don't get it do you!" There's no bargaining! You lose-Do what I want or I'll-"

 _Thud_ The entire aircraft shook. Jivad lost his balance and quickly looked to the cockpit.

 _Course altered, recalibrating flight plan. Manual intervention spoke._ The spaceship's AI repeated over the loudspeakers

"What the heck was that?" Jivad asked stress fully. _click_ he heard a familiar sound from behind. Upon seeing what it was-it was too late. Demitrex had unholstered a pistol from his diplomat's coat and was aiming it right at Jivad's chest.

"I was saying-if you give up now I might be able to-"

"You wouldn't dare shoot me." The medic boasted. Demitrex reacted by changing his aim from Jivad's chest to his head.

"I'm sorry. . . but it's not just your fate this time. . .

"Wait-" The medic protested, but it was too late. A shot was fired, and it struck him in the face. The unconscious body fell back-very much alive, but incapacitated.

"Shade!" Demitrex yelled. "Jivad is out cold! I'm going to try to break you out. . . there's a double airlock door between here and the passenger's corridor. I don't think they could hear me and try to break in." He walked over to a case not far from his seat and opened it up. Soon he was holding an electo-axe and standing right in front of Shade's makeshift prison door.

"What did you say!?" Shade had a hard time hearing him through the thick walls.

"I said I'll have to break you out alone! Stand away from the door!" Demitrex slashed at the seam of the door, but the progress seemed really slow. "Dammit!" He finally cursed.

 _knock knock knock_ Demitrex looked to his left at the cockpit's front. Someone was tapping on the glass from outside. Knuckles the echidna was standing on the front of the ship and trying to get Demitrex's attention. The guardian was giving him funny-and even hostile looks over the body on the floor and the giant axe in his hands.

"Shade. . . hold on, looks like we have help after all. . ."

"Help? From who?" Shade asked, but she received no answer. Demitrex walked over to the opposite side of the cockpit and prepared to open the emergency escape door.

"Knuckles! Is that you?" He called out, not sure if he could even be heard over the wind.

"What's going on?" Knuckles asked aggressively. He didn't like what he'd seen inside the window. His mind imagined the various kinds of danger Shade might be in at the hands of this cyborg echidna.

"We've got a mess on our hands-and something like a mutiny. Shade's locked in a room full of explosives, and I can't get her out!"

"Let me in!" Knuckle's adrenaline started pumping aggressively. Fist first, he clinged to the steel walls and climbed his way to Demitrex's door. Once inside, Knuckles dusted his knees off. "Where is she" He asked with an earnest expression on his face.

"That is the body of my nephew-Demitrex pointed to the echidna on the floor. "Shade is locked in there, and my nephew locked her in. I've been trying too-"

"Shade! Stand back!" Knuckles wasted no time. He pompously walked forward and winded back his fist for a punch. "I'm striking the right hand side of the door!" He warned before giving it a smack. The force he hit it with was incredible. Though his super-state had mostly died off, some of the strength still resided in him. He only needed to strike it twice to Demitrex's surprise.

"Ah!" Shade yellped as the busted door flopped over. "Knuckles, is that you?"

"You're alright!" Knuckles spoke. "It's a good thing I came after all! You're also probably mad to see me here-Let me explain."

"I don't think you need too." Shade looked at the mirror still hanging around Knuckle's neck.

"Huh? That? Oh. . . actually, I didn't use it! But I figured you really needed help and that shouldn't go alone."

"What makes you say that?!" Shade was somewhat offended that Knucklesn't hadn't listened to her, even if his help recently proved necessary.

"Well I-I. . . " Knuckle stopped for a moment and thought to himself. "Because-Because I always say that I don't need help from my closest friends either, but truth be told, it's always better to have them, no matter what the danger is or what I'm doing. I thought it was time for me to teach that lesson to you, and I'm not going to let you get shot while helping the last of my kind survive enemy onslaught!" Knuckles stated his case as best he could.

"Alright Knuckles, fair enough." Shade mildly agreed to his sentiment and ceased speaking about it further. However, she could not help but smile slightly as she turned the other way. It was hard to deny how good hearted Knuckles was. . . even if he was clueless when it came to understanding other people at times.

"Not to interrupt you two heroes, but this ship may need some adjustments."

"You said Jivad's been knocked out?" Shade asked.

"Yeah, it wasn't hard either. Do either of you have a clue how to fly this ship?"

"I've flown a spaceship before." Knuckles chimed in.

"Really?" Shade questioned.

"Yeah-to the A.R.K. actually." Knuckle was about to sit down in the main seat. Thankfully, Demitrex pushed him aside.

"No, wait, I see how this works. You sit there-I'll take charge." The old echidna guided Knuckle's shoulder to the co-pilot's chair. "Now that I think about it, there's no reason to alter the flight that much. I've had training with similar vehicles, but we aren't going anywhere specific. We just need to reach the vacuum of space so that we can create a portal. We've got nothing to worry about." The elder sat down and did his best to check various interfaces and ensure the ship's integrity was fine. "So!" He piped up. "Knuckles, it's a pleasure to finally meet you! You and Sonic did our people quite a service! I'm sorry to say this, but for your own good I'm going to ask you to get off this ship." Demitrex lost all sense of humor as he plainly dropped the info.

"You want me to leave?" Knuckles asked in a little disbelief. Shade opened her mouth, but stopped herself from saying whatever she wanted to say. "Okay." He agreed slowly. "You don't need my help-I guess you guys have everything under control." He mocked while glancing at the airlock.

"Shade." Demitrex spoke in the girl's direction, prompting her to input something in this conversation.

"Demitrex-Knuckles, I. . ." She couldn't seem to choose what to say. Knuckles watched as Shade guiltily looked at the ground, unwilling to say the wrong thing in this situation.

"That's it, I've had enough." Knuckles intervened. "Shade, if you want my help, then it's here. I don't believe taking me along would hinder your team in the slightest, but I'm not going to force you to take me along-But you need to stop feeling so guilty. You're always trying to do the right thing. You shouldn't feel bad for always trying to do what's best." He spoke in an affirmative manner.

"That's been bothering me. You act like you betrayed your clan when you just did what you had too. Chin up." Demitrex surprisingly added to Knuckle's speech. "I don't have time for people who aren't here 100%. Whatever conflict you've had in the back of your mind, you need to finish it. You know that Shade." The echidna put plainly.

"I. . . my parents-if I could just-"

"What-save them? We all want to save the people who are important to us Shade. But we're also one big family, it's why we're called a clan. You always make the right choice, but I have my own guess about what keeps you from being happy." Demitrex turned his head from Shade to Knuckles. "I think you'll need someone close to help you through this. . . Knuckles!" He suddenly addressed. "I have one position available for you to replace on my twenty-six man crew. I cannot grant you the benefits of officially being part of Tribe Vitar, but I can and will allow you to enlist under my personal and serve as Procurator Shade's praetorian guard. Will you swear an oath of loyalty to your crew surpassing all bonds but those religiously imposed, and those to your own native tribe?"

"What?!" Knuckles expressed his confusion.

"If you swear this oath, you will be under the protection of my military unit and anyone who threatens you threatens the rest of us. Legally everything will be a lot easier, but since you are technically from another tribe, I can give you a contract of two months as opposed to making you swear an oath that exists forever. If people know you are under my protection, I expect the assassination attempts we feared against you will be reduced aside from those planned by tribe Ivus. We can also get you a suit of armor and disguise you amongst the other soldiers visually. Technically, the Nocturnus Clan is still at war with the Knuckles Tribe so as long as your on our grounds without some legal protection, anyone can shoot you. It's stupid I know-"

"I'll think about it." Knuckles affirmed, still not sure what the oath would force on him, but if he had to take it to be with Shade, then would likely take it.

"Procruator Shade, do you deem Knuckles of the Knuckles Tribe-our previous and current enemies-worthy of the station of your guard?"

"Y-Yes!" Shade agreed heartily. Knuckles never thought he'd be so happy to hear a single word from Shade's mouth, but it was amazingly uplifting.

"All that's left is for you to swear the complete oath, once we find terms that are agreeable." Demitrex walked over to one of the locked doors which would lead them to the back chambers which held several other Nocturnus soldiers. "We'll need to make sure you swear before a suitable host of witnesses. . . We should have two spare praetorian suits back there when we're done. Oh, yeah. . ." He stopped just short of the door.

"What is it?" Knuckles asked.

"Do you think you could knock this door down too?"

"Here." Shade pulled off her wrist blade and held it in Knuckle's direction.

"Thanks." Knuckles smiled. "But I don't think I'll need it." He grinned even wider before giving the barrier one big punch.


End file.
